I am almost obsessed with being able to cover the legislative session. I have done so for the past few years either with the New Mexico Independent or with Clearly New Mexico. This year, I am trying to cover the session on my own with New Mexico Telegram.

You can help by clicking here and donating — but let me explain why this is such a big deal to me.

Covering New Mexico politics is a passion of mine. I have lived in New Mexico my entire life — most of it in Rio Rancho and I recently moved to Albuquerque. New Mexico is not only my home, but the home of my family. My great-grandfather emigrated from Mexico when he has a kid and attended the original Albuquerque High School before it became high-priced lofts. My family on my mother’s side has lived in northern New Mexico for many, many years.

I feel that politics are something that is very important to be covered fairly and accurately. And in these times of divisive partisanship, picking out the real stories is even more important. The legislators are making decisions that have an impact on us all on a daily basis. It can be your taxes going up. It can be a change in the abortion laws in New Mexico. It could be the Wal-Mart near your house getting a tax break your mom-and-pop store doesn’t get.

This is why I enjoy covering the stories. The media is not as expansive as it was in years past. Steve Terrell can’t be in all the committee hearings. Even the three-man team at the Journal can’t cover everything — and more media scrutiny on the issues is always better than less.

I am probably preaching to the choir. If you are reading New Mexico Telegram on a daily basis, you likely already know how important independent, fair-minded media coverage is in not only our state but around the nation. This is why I’m asking you to help support the efforts to cover the legislative session this year.

It is a full-time job to cover the session. At least if it is done correctly.

For just over six months, I was covering New Mexico politics while working a full-time job — probably not giving either the full attention they deserved. But now, I have left my job to focus on covering New Mexico politics for at least through the session. To do so, I will need your help.

Please consider donating some money to the site to help keep us covering the site. The funds will go towards two things: My salary (that is, rent, electricity, internet and maybe even taking my incredibly patient and wonderful girlfriend out to a nice dinner) and things related to covering the session. These include train passes up to Santa Fe. Lunch while in Santa Fe (though I am usually good about brown bagging it). Cell phone bill for calling legislators and hooking up to the internet when the Roundhouse internet goes down. Pens and paper for taking notes (yes, in the age of technology, nothing beats an old-fashioned journalist’s notepad). And a dozen other small things you never think of until you need time — like a new bike inner tube for my bike that I use to ride to the train station every day.

A couple of you have donated already, unsolicited. And I thank you so, so much for that — in addition to helping fund the Telegram, it shows that people appreciate the hard work that goes into this.

Unfortunately, this time we won’t be offering incentives beyond giving all donors free access to the early-edition of the Morning Word throughout the legislative session. And if we reach the $2,000 goal, everyone who donates will receive a bumper sticker with the New Mexico Telegram name, logo and URL on it.

In the last fundraiser, it was an all-or-nothing affair. Only if the $3,500 goal was raised would the funds actually go through. This time, the funds will go through immediately when you make the donation through the button below (or at this link). In addition, you can send a check — just email me at matthew@nmtelegram.com for the information on where to send the check.

Please consider donating and helping New Mexico Telegram cover the legislative session like it deserves to be covered.

Matthew Reichbach has blogged about New Mexico politics since 2006. Matthew was a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and part of the original hirings at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation.
In addition to politics, Matthew is an avid sports fan, especially of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and TV fan.